Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 27 Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens more wounded after Israel forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in the southern city of Rafah.

Health officials said that troops began shooting at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the early hours of Tuesday.

The media office of the government in Gaza has denounced the shootings at or near aid distribution centers “horrific, intentionally repeated crimes.”

In a statement, the Israeli military acknowledged the incident, claiming that its forces opened fire after the people strayed from a designated route and did not respond to warning shots.

The statement called the victims “suspects” who “posed a threat” to soldiers, without specifying the nature of the perceived threat, a usual pretext the regime cites in the aftermath of massacre of civilians in Gaza.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded an independent investigation into the mass shooting of Gaza’s aid seekers that have been reported every day since May 27, when the GHF started its operations.

Separately, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday the impediment of access to food and relief for civilians in Gaza may constitute a war crime, describing attacks as unconscionable.

“For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,’” Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for Human Rights told the media in Geneva.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, since October 2023, has killed at least 54,418 Palestinians and wounded more than 124,000, according to the Health Ministry.

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